Definition

1. Noun:
   • A dramatic speech by a single character: A "soliloquy" is a speech in a play where a character speaks their thoughts aloud, typically while alone on stage, revealing their inner feelings, intentions, or reflections to the audience.
   • The act of speaking to oneself: More generally, "soliloquy" can refer to the act of talking to oneself, especially when done in a reflective or extended manner.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Hamlet's "To be or not to be" is one of the most famous soliloquies in all of literature.
  • In her final soliloquy, the character revealed her true plans to the audience.
  • He was so lost in thought that he lapsed into a quiet soliloquy, unaware anyone was listening.

Advanced Usage

• "Internal soliloquy": Used to describe a character's stream of thoughts presented in a narrative, even if not spoken aloud.
  • The novel uses an internal soliloquy to convey the protagonist's deepest fears.

Variants and Related Words

• Soliloquize (verb): To utter a soliloquy; to talk to oneself.
  • The actor soliloquized beautifully in the climactic scene.
• Monologue (noun): A long speech by one actor in a play or film, or by one person in conversation. (Note: A monologue can be addressed to other characters, while a soliloquy is typically a character's private thoughts).

Synonyms

• Monologue (when referring to a long speech by one person, though with a key technical difference in drama).
• Aside (a brief remark by a character intended to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on stage).

Related Phrases

• "To deliver a soliloquy": The standard phrase for performing this type of speech in a play.
  • The young actor was nervous about delivering the long soliloquy.

Related Idioms

• "A soliloquy of doubt": A phrase used to describe a prolonged, internal struggle with uncertainty, often in literary analysis.
  • The entire chapter reads like a soliloquy of doubt, exploring the hero's crisis of faith.

Noun

1. a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections
2. speech you make to yourself